Midnight in Rome: A Wandering Mind in a City Eternal (Paperback)

by Michael J Gyulai (Author)
Key Phrases: tessera sanitaria, sanitary card, anonymous woman, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seven Eleven (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Having just graduated from the University of California, Michael relocates across the Atlantic in an attempt to satisfy his lifelong infatuation with Rome. But his conventional image of the Italian capital and its people begins to warp when he lands a job at an ultra-modern nightclub in the city’s historic heart where the mischievous staff sweeps him into the world of after-hours Rome.

Michael discovers the present-day Eternal City to be a whirlpool of recklessness and diversion, composed of tense drug dealings on the banks of the Tiber and grudge-driven robberies in ancient piazzas. In this Rome, there is but one glimmer of hope and clarity: a striking foreigner named Skye.

Aching to share in the radiance of Skye’s world, yet trapped within the devious nocturnal exploits of his Italian colleagues, Michael grapples with the limitations of language, the power of the night, the volatility of relationships, and the irrationality of fate. He explores these intimate intricacies of the human condition and of his own soul, each argument reflected in the city’s sacred landscape and fallible people.

Just as the timeless cobblestone and world-famous monuments interweave with a contemporary urban foreground of sleek nightclubs and cosmopolitan living, Midnight in Rome perfectly blends philosophical dialogue and improbable adventure, creating a masterpiece of human emotion.

About the Author
Michael Gyulai was born in San Francisco, California, and graduated with honors from UCLA in 2004. He then relocated to Rome, Italy, for more than two years where he worked as a bartender and writer while adopting the Italian language and culture. Gyulai currently resides outside San Francisco.

Please visit the author's website at www.midnightinrome.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (January 22, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059547375X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595473755
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #378,599 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Adventures - And Misadventures - Abroad, June 10, 2008

By	Apex Reviews (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews

Introspection comes in a variety of different forms: it can be instantaneous or prolonged, active or passive, subtle or glaringly obvious...regardless of the form it takes, though, it normally happens within the confines of our everyday environments - but, as is the case with Michael Gyulai, it can also happen thousands of miles from home.

The reader is granted special access to such insight in Midnight In Rome, the true story of Gyulai's adventures - and misadventures - in the famed Eternal City during a memorable period of his early adult life. Shortly after his graduation from the University of California, Gyulai satisfies his lifelong craving to visit the city by moving to the Italian capital in a not-so-subtle effort to drink in its deep, rich cultural heritage. He soon discovers, though, that his romanticized vision of the Rome of legend clashes greatly with the stark reality of its modern face. Soon gaining employment as a bartender at Metro, an interesting - to say the least - nightclub in the heart of the city, Gyulai becomes privy to the deep, dark secrets of the hidden underbelly of a city that functions much like any other in the world - only less apologetically so.

Just when he thinks the seediness that surrounds him will snuff out any remaining hopes of love and light, Gyulai meets the inimitable Skye, a strikingly captivating beauty who just happens to be a foreigner herself. He soon finds himself overwhelmed with the desire to become everything to Skye - and more - and his erstwhile lust for Rome herself is soon transferred completely to Skye, as he convinces himself that she possesses the much-needed answer to the emotional riddle that his life has become. What follows is a humorous, heart-wrenching, and always entertaining pursuit through the mercurial halls of human emotion and vulnerability.

Midnight In Rome is a charming read. In it, Gyulai has crafted a truly engaging memoir of a phase in life with which we all are surely familiar: the charged idealism of post-adolescence, and the sobering crash of reality that always follows it. Reading about - and vicariously experiencing - his adventures makes for an enlightening trip, regardless of the physical setting in which they transpire. A sure-fire literary treat that promises to awaken the adventurousness and curiosity in us all.

4.0 out of 5 stars A modern side to Rome, May 29, 2008

By	Mary Menzel "Reviewer - www.AllTheseBooks.com" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Millions of tourists visit Rome every year and go home feeling they have experienced this rich and historical society. They have... but only as a tourist. Michael Gyulai lived, worked and communed in the Eternal City on a daily basis as one of its citizens. Up until now I have always envision Rome as being strictly a historical place but reading "Midnight In Rome" made me realize there is a modern side to Rome as well. Gyulai fluently paints a detailed picture of modern Roman society and culture with its industries, nightclubs and people. By including Italian phrases with delayed translations, Gyulai gets across the frustration of living in a town where your comprehension of the language is minimal. "Midnight In Rome" is also for the adventurer or the adventurer at heart. It is the adventure we all look forward to when we get out of school or as we look back on our youth, the adventure we wish we would have taken.

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Life Adventure , March 10, 2008

By	Grace Woods - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I went to UCLA and also went abroad, as Mike did in the book. The book kept me on my toes and still had me in a state of playful nighttime wonder when all I had expected was a redundant journal about travels. What I got was a very real story about the quarter life crisis and the need to challenge one's self in a non-academic way. I can't wait to read more by this author and have reccomended it to all my friends.